Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with torture

What's the deal with UNCAT, the Genva Convetions, and the US?

Salvor Hardin — Wed, 13 May 2009 07:41:33 -0800

I have some questions about torture regarding international and US law, especially the Geneva Conventions and the UNCAT. This interesting thread led me to look up some things about international law regarding torture, and I was confused about a couple things. I'll tell you what I do understand (please tell me if it's wrong) and what I don't understand (please explain).

As I understand it, the parts of the Geneva Conventions which the US has ratified apply only to the treatment of prisoners of war from countries that obey the strictures of the Geneva Conventions; it is Protocol I, an addition to the Geneva Conventions from the '70s that prohibits torture of prisoners regardless of their previous disregard for the rules of war of the Geneva Conventions. The US has not ratified Protocol I. Thus it appears to me, as distasteful as it is to say, that G.W. Bush was correct when he insisted that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to prisoners rendered to Guantanamo Bay, since it is pretty clear that groups like Al Qaeda and the Taliban do not obey the rules of the Geneva Conventions.

However, the US has signed and ratified the The UN Convention Against Torture. From a brief reading of that document, it appears that this document prohibits torture of anyone under any circumstances, and it defines torture as follows:

"Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions."

That seems entirely unambiguous to me. Is there any legal doubt that this applies to waterboarding? Is there a reason that I seem to only hear about the Geneva Conventions in relation to the Guantanamo Bay torture issue and never the UNCAT? Am I missing something about the legal nature of the UNCAT?

I'd also like to know how the US Constitution applies to foreigners held by the US: Is there a firmly established precedent that the Constitution only applies to US citizens? The Bill of Rights in the Constitution appears to refer to "persons" rather than "citizens". Why aren't Afghans rendered to Guantanamo Bay considered to be protected by the Constitution?

Thanks for your help MeFi Legal Team!

Note: I don't wish to start a shouting match about the morality of torture - I believe it to be incontrovertibly immoral and unconscionable; this question is strictly about the legal aspect.

Where are the ticking time bombs?

Mngo — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:43:28 -0800

I am collecting examples of the “Ticking Time Bomb Scenario” in fiction, film/tv, and journalism. The TTB scenario is the fantasy of a single “pure” act of torture that averts an imminent terrorist attack. It first appears, according to authorities such as Darius Rejali and Jane Mayer, in Jean Lartéguy’s 1960 novel “Les Centurions,” set during the Algerian civil war, and has been a staple tactic of torture apologists during the US “War on Terror,” offered perhaps most controversially by Alan Dershowitz in his argument in favor of torture warrants. It is also a routine plot device in the Fox series 24. According to the document “Defusing the Ticking Time Bomb Scenario” by the Association for the Prevention of Torture, “It is worth distinguishing the question of what moral response society should take in anticipation of a realistic ticking bomb scenario, from the question of what any individual person would or would not in fact do were they to find themselves in such circumstances. The way in which the ticking bomb scenario is most often posed is designed to blur these lines, and this is one of its most dangerous and insidious effects.” [19]

I want to collect as many of these scenarios as possible. I'm especially interested in descriptions of TTB situations that actually imagine specific details of the impending catastrophe and the torture used to avert it. (This was almost my first FPP, and it is probably destined to show up on Projects, but for now, I really need help in compiling examples that aren't mentioned above).

No more solitary confinement?

medusa — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:05:44 -0800

What can I do to work against long-term solitary confinement of prisoners in the US? I recently read this New Yorker article (linked in this metafilter post), which makes a strong case that solitary confinement of prisoners for more than a few days is worse than physical torture and causes lasting brain damage. It horrifies me to realize how widespread this practice is in the US, and that most Americans support it.

What would be some effective ways to vocalize my opposition to solitary confinement and work to end it? I will probably not quit my job and become a full-time activist. I would welcome ideas for individuals/groups to whom I should write letters or give money, both on the national level and in specific states (I live in Colorado). Other suggestions for how to effect change on this issue are also welcome.

What photographer tortured cockroaches?

miffed — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:21:18 -0800

Looking for the name of an artist who did a beautiful / disturbing series of photographs of cockroaches (and/or other insects??) being tortured. My memory is vague, but I think one was crucified, one immolated, etc. I also feel like it was a female artist.

Name this TV program

tslugmo — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:44:06 -0800

I think it was PBS, a roundtable discussion about a hypothetical ticking timebomb and what each branch of society thought should be done. I believe there were 3 panels: law enforcement, attorneys, and politicians. I think the host was an African-American male. I only caught a minute of this, and it was a couple years ago, but it looked really interesting. The way I vaguely remember it there were several tables and at each were members of a community, like attorneys, and they'd weigh in on things like whether to torture, or how far they'd go, and why. Does anybody know the name of this program? Even better, where I might be able to stream it? Thanks!

Bimodal or am I biased?

halogen — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:53:08 -0800

StatisticsFilter: how can I find out whether my data is bimodal? I have no statistics skills whatsoever, and I would love to have this figured out before I return to campus tomorrow morning. Please help!

Background: I have several sets of 70 numbers each (they represent the lengths of bacterial cells infected with different phages). I want to show that there is a significant difference between the two sets. While my averages look very good, adding error bars negates my findings. For example:
Set 1: Average 6.83, Standard deviation 1.67.
Set 2: Average 4.1, Standard deviation 1.00.

Possible explanation: Let's look at one set at a time. There is a chance that I infected my bacteria with less phages than I planned to, so that not all the bacteria were affected--which would effectively split the populations sampled in each set into "infected" and "uninfected", and presumably they would have different length distributions. Can I test for this before I repeat my experiment (I plan to do that anyway, but still want to know if my findings are significant at this point)?

Googling taught me that Hartigan's Dip Test is what I need. A stranger kindly posted Matlab functions for the test.

Problem: I have Matlab installed on my computer, but I have never used it and I have no idea what to do at this point. I have a column of values in Excel, and even if I manage to enter it as a set in Matlab (although my attempts so far don't look good), I don't know how to run the test. If you can show me how to run it, how would I interpret the results so that they would be meaningful to me (provided I get Matlab to print them)? Please, please, can you help me with that?

Do you have any other suggestions for what to do to my data (remove outliers? how?) or how to look at it in order to see what's going on? (I can post the dataset somewhere if necessary.) Thanks!

Animal abuse during war time?

hammerthyme — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 14:02:37 -0800

Can you provide information on acts of animal abuse/cruelty taking place in other countries during war time? More inside... A recent, unlinked here, Youtube video involving a puppy in the desert of Afghanistan got me thinking about this question. A few examples (that I've creatively imagined) would be soldiers catching cats with their bayonets during WWI or lighting alive pigs on fire in Vietnam. Links will come in handy too. Thanks.

Wanting what you can't have (or can you?)

Anonymous — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 06:33:32 -0800

Im infatuated with this girl who I knew I couldn't have from the start. She has a partner. She is more than 10 years younger than me. She lives in another country. But I wake up with thoughts of her every morning. I construct new theories about what she was really thinking. After my (long) marriage turned sour Ive been keeping an eye out for the possibility of love again. While studying I met this Polish girl who I thought was very nice. I invited her out once and it went well until she told me she had a serious partner. At that point I was sort of gutted inside but didn't show it. When I found that out, she became all that more attractive to me - a challenge I couldn't let go of. Her partner was coming over in a few months to be with her. I went out with her a few more times but it just made it worse and she was concerned I was getting too attached. Anyway I vowed that I would end it before boyfriend came over and I did. I changed countries and kept away from her for a few months until I emailed her again and we got back in contact. I'm living with a girl friend at the moment.

She told me straight up she and her boyfriend believe that they should meet other people because no one person can fulfill all of your needs. On one trip we made together she told me that her boyfriend was in her background for a few years while she was "playing around" until she found out he really liked her and thats how they started together. Apparently she had also hung out with this other guy in another country too before me. She is a sweet girl but I wonder whether she and her boyfriend have this thing that turns them on about being with other people. I mean she said when the boyfriend came over, we could still go to dinner and hang out etc. Maybe I am out of the scene these days but it seemed really strange. Is this some modern style of relationship? At one point she told me that she felt I had gotten too close and she didn't feel the same way and all she could offer was being my friend. I knew this so it wasn't exactly a surprise to me. She said I had confused her and she wasn't sure how she would feel when her boyfriend came over.

Anyway I still think about her a lot and I haven't heard from her in a few weeks (as she is travelling with bf). Every time she sends me a letter it is always very enthusiastic and nice (but I think thats just her nature). She promises to come and visit me here some time.

What is wrong with me? Why do I still think about her? I knew from the start this was going nowhere. I was just compelled by her enthusiasm and charming nature. I know there's something missing in my life and there are other people in my life but I was just very attracted to this one girl. Any thoughts about what I should do and why I am like this?

email : ificanthaveyou@gmail.com

Why am I extra-ticklish when I'm sleepy?

pieliza — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:59:18 -0800

Why o why am I more ticklish when I'm tired? I'm always ticklish but I notice a marked increase in twitchy tickle-inspired laughing fits when I'm yawny.

Deepen my world knowledge.

n'muakolo — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 07:16:55 -0800

Human rights violations around the world. What are countries with histories of major modern human rights violations that I may not think of? We all know about Rwanda, Nazi Germany, Saddam's Iraq, Burma over the past fifty years, Japan during WWII, China, the Sudan, Sierra Leone, Northern Uganda, Liberia, Argentina, Chile, Guatemala, South Africa, El Salvador, etc. But what are some countries with histories of human rights violations in living memory that are less well known?

For example, I recently heard that SWAPO committed thousands of human rights violations during the Namibian independence struggle, and I would never have associated Namibia with human rights violations.

Help me find a recent blog post about torture

davidstandaford — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 11:54:47 -0800

I remember reading a blog post recently (probably 2 weeks ago, a month at the most) where the author said allowing torture is a bad idea because most people are personally opposed to torturing and would be unwilling to participate, so the only people willing to do the torturing are sadists who get pleasure out of torturing people. Therefore, you get a lot of punitive sadistic torture of little actual strategic value. Anyone remember reading this recently? I'm pretty sure it was one of the big name liberal blogs that I saw it on (Yglesias, Drum, TPM, Ezra Klein, etc...) but I could be mistaken. I use Google Desktop and have tried search of any of the relevant terms, but couldn't find it. There may have also been the Nietzsche quote about the abyss, but I'm not sure about this.

I'm trying to find it because of a recent discussion with a friend about hazing and the blog post about torture made an argument I was interested in showing him.

Forget the Chinese Water Torture

tdischino — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 13:40:41 -0800

Is this some sort of Japanese Torture Device? What is this? I found it boxed up carefully in the garage of the house I bought. The previous owner did have some Asian furniture, and I'm fairly certain they spent some time in Asia (both are deceased so I cant ask). There is a sticker on the bottom that says Japan. From the top, the design obviously looks like it is of Asian origin, but the attachments are what I can't figure out. There are four sharp pointed spikes coming up from the base, and the parallel attachment has about 6 sharp points of varying length facing down. Since the perpendicular arm is adjustable (up/down) and can be tightened, I'm thinking it is intended to hold something securely to the board, but am not sure what. Other than a hunk of meat, what else would you secure to a board like this.

If it is a cutting/carving board, What is up with the design? Is this just a nice carving platter? Or is there some significance to it? Do I have something of value or collectors interest on my hands?

Solutions to survive the pain of laser hair removal treatments please!

iamkimiam — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 22:28:12 -0800

What can I do to make laser hair removal treatments more tolerable? I recently started laser hair removal treatments on my legs and bikini line. I prepaid for the treatments and am very interested in completing them...however, my first session was UNBEARABLE. I thought that I had a high pain threshold, but this was a whole different animal. Something about the way the lasers work...it was excruciating. I want to go through with the remaining treatments because I think the results will be worth it, but I'd like to hear about some pain management techniques or topical anesthetics that would be safe to try. My internet searching has been fruitless. Anybody been through this? How did you survive?

Help me identify this painting

aceyim — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 20:06:19 -0800

Please help me identify a painting. I found this image via Google Image Search when I searched for "torture" and "mexico." It's apparently not actually on the page linked to in the search results, so I can't find any info on what the title is or who painted it. Please help me figure out this mystery!

p.s. and no, I do NOT want to torture Mexico, nor am I interested in seeing Mexico tortured. I am just doing a presentation on the physical and psychological ramifications of torture in general.

Torture in the media?

EarBucket — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 10:08:43 -0800

Help me find examples of torture in movies and on TV. Inspired by this thread, I'm working on a project examing the use of torture in the media. I'm looking for as broad a range of examples as possible--positive and negative, recent and older, prominent and obscure.

If the example is from a TV show, it'd help if you could cite a specific episode. If the series has visited the issue more than once, particularly if it's portrayed differently each time, multiple episode cites are great.

Upside Down Torture

prettyboyfloyd — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 16:22:05 -0800

Losing consciousness after being hung upside down by feet? (Humanitarian Asylum / Torture Related) How long would it take for the average individual to lose consciousness after being hung upside down by their feet? I'm working on an asylum case with a law clinic. When our client was testifying regarding his torture, the government seemed skeptical of the claim that our client was hung upside down by his feet and beaten for several hours without losing consciousness. Is there some reason that an average person would lose consciousness after hanging upside down, by their feet, for a long period of time?

Not to be gruesome, but any articles or resources you can point to that are related to forensic/medical analysis of the physical consequences of various torture techniques would be helpful. Thanks!

Name this Viking punishment.

Black Spring — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 14:49:14 -0800

Which Viking torture / punishment involved progressively severing segments of the limbs? I remember reading somewhere about a punishment or form of extended execution practiced amongst the Old Norse or Germanic peoples that involved cutting off the victim's fingertips, then the fingers, then the hands, then the forearms and then the upper arms. Ditto for the legs. I think they salved or tied off the stumps to prevent bleeding to death before the punishment could be meted out completely. I seem to remember that some, if not all of those tortured in this manner were allowed, or even required to live as a further humiliation.

What was the name of the punishment, and what was the victim pejoratively labelled after it was complete?

The FFFishes' Guide to Waterboarding

five fresh fish — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 16:38:27 -0800

I'm thinking about being waterboarded, just to see what it's all about. How can I do it correctly, ie. not end up dead? Unless someone has a good reason for me to not try this — ie. it's going to have high potential of killing me or breaking my psyche — I just might work up the nerve. Set it up correctly and have a safeword, and I should be okay, right?

So I guess first point of order is: is it safe enough to try? Second point: how?

Thanks. Yes, I know, I might be insane.

Looking for good quotes from evil men.

ztdavis — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 10:51:00 -0800

Where can I find some good Hitler quotes? There's a whole lot I am an Indiana University student and our school newspaper recently printed a horrible column in favor of Gitmo, torture, and execution. I mean it's really, really bad.

This made plenty of us here at IU rather mad, and now we're trying to think up the best response for the letters section in the upcoming Thursday paper. I've already typed up a real response. Another friend has already typed up a satirical response, but we need something with more oomph.

So here's the question. Before Thursday I would like to find a good dictator quote, from Hitler, Stalin, or anyone else, that supports the views of the column to demonstrate how goddamn absurd all of his claims are.

So...mefites, any suggestions?

What US law schools have programs in either torture or refugee law?

k8t — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 10:13:10 -0800

What US law schools have programs in international law related to either torture or refugees? My good friend has an MA in international relations where she focused on international law torture cases. She has 5 years of working in refugee/IDP issues at NGOs and organizations. She also has done some academic study of refugee issues in international law. She wants to become a lawyer focusing on these issues. Let's assume that she'll do well on the LSAT, has a good undergrad and MA GPA, and has excellent recommendations. What programs are out there?

You know -- for kids!

solid-one-love — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 23:21:11 -0800

OK. Here's another question about a book I read as a kid, 25 or 30 years ago. It was a collection of short stories where truly horrible things happened... All I can remember is that the book had a single illustration for each horror story, the stories were 10 or 20 pages long each, and one of the stories in particular involved a person who was slowly starved to death while being hung from wires in the middle of a locked room as some form of punishment.

I think that there were several similar books by the same author, but I can't be sure. They were extremely popular reading in my school.

Any help?

'....amigo, you dance across wide open spaces.'

rebirtha — Sun, 21 May 2006 22:16:33 -0800

When I was in school in '98 I read one of the best poems ever. Help me find it. It's by Denis Johnson and it's called 'Torture,' (I think?) dedicated to Stephen Dobyns (of Church of Dead Girls 'fame.') I know, this should be easy to find, right? I want to buy the volume, I just can't remember where the poem occurred. Thanks.

Army legal training for enlistees

ikkyu2 — Thu, 29 Sep 2005 21:08:34 -0800

What are enlisted men and women in the U.S. Army taught about the Uniform Code of Military Justice? The question was inspired by the recent media accounts of Lynndie England's conviction. Obviously enlisted personnel are not supposed to be trained attorneys; they are soldiers.

Are they ever exposed to teaching about the UCMJ or other guidelines about the treatment of prisoners? If so, who teaches them; during what part of their training; and how is their learning/retention of this information validated? Is there a test at the end? Who else is responsible for an enlisted person's violations besides the enlisted person herself?

Also, I feel a little sorry for Lynndie; she doesn't seem that smart. I wouldn't trust her to make ethical decisions on my behalf, for instance. I'd be curious to learn the opinions of current or ex-military folks - was she ridden out of town on a rail? Was she in a gray area? Was she totally in the wrong and should have known it immediately?

Help me tame an instrument of torture

floanna — Sat, 30 Jul 2005 06:25:43 -0800

Has anyone successfully managed to repair a sticky out wire coming out from an underwired bra? I've thrown out many (otherwise good) bras because the wire works it's way through and ripping me to shreds even when I try to sew it up 'darned socks style' with thread! Are there any MeFi domestic goddesses that have tamed this instrument of torture? I've been thinking about sewing some more fabric over the end and wondered if anyone else has tried this or other avenues. I hate throwing out good bras and they're generally not cheap. It's always sod's law that they all go at the same time too. I have large boobs so suggestions of going for the non-wire options aren't going to be viable unfortunately. Thanks in advance.

Did the ACLU get it's torture photos?

Jezztek — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 20:34:17 -0800

Today was supposed to be the day the ACLU got the redacted torture Photos mentioned here I wonder if anyone knows if the Gov made good on the order? I just assumed we would never see them, so I am quite curious how things played out.